Editorial: End at-large races in Henderson, NLV

Friday, April 18, 2003 | 9:25 a.m.

The Sun reported Thursday that some of the defeated city council candidates in Henderson and North Las Vegas say the at-large system of electing council members isn't fair to challengers who usually have to face well-financed incumbents. All of the incumbents in the municipal elections in North Las Vegas and Henderson received more than 50 percent of the vote, negating the need for a run-off election. The candidates in North Las Vegas and Henderson technically run from and represent a specific ward, but all the voters in the city can vote. It's unlike the case in Las Vegas, where only residents from the wards whose councilmen's terms are up can vote.

David Damore, a University of Nevada, Las Vegas assistant political science professor, said that challengers can benefit under a ward system because there is less territory to cover to reach voters, but also cautioned that "incumbents can tighten their grip on a smaller area." Evidence of the latter would seem to come from Las Vegas Councilmen Gary Reese and Lawrence Weekly, who both crushed their opponents and eliminated the need for a run-off election. But there was a glaring exception: Councilman Michael McDonald. He actually received fewer votes than his challenger, so he will have to face Janet Moncrief in the general election.

In a smaller city with at-large races, such as Boulder City, challengers aren't at such a disadvantage. In larger cities such as Henderson and North Las Vegas, where a lot of money is needed to get a candidate's message out, at-large races can stifle real competition. That isn't healthy for democracy. It's possible that the results would have been the same even if there had been a ward system in Henderson and North Las Vegas. Nevertheless, both cities should adopt a ward system for elections, one that would be fairer than what we have now.